Guide to Family Weekend 2010: The path slightly less traveled edition

Supposedly Brown students don’t leave the campus area as often as we should. (Wait, there are other streets besides Thayer?) You and your family may be tired of looking around the Brown campus and Thayer Street, so check out these slightly off Thayer destinations.

For everyone:Historic crap on College Hill: Just walk around and absorb that historic atmosphere in the beautiful fall weather. And we mean crap in the best way possible.

The State House: They give tours, right? Go see what the RI legislature is up to these days.

Wayland Square: Another East Side area within walking distance of campus with restaurants and shops. Grab a coffee at the Edge, eat a fancy dinner by the water, peruse shops with antiques and expensive cheeses.

The Providence Athenaeum: Check out the beautiful reading room in the this historic building just a bit down the hill.

Providence Place: Okay, so this isn’t really exploring. We know all about this mall. But about this time, you’re probably thinking you need another sweater or a new pair of boots, so drag your parents down the hill to buy you some crap.

Out of town shopping: Suburbs in Rhode Island and Massachusetts provide CostCo, Target, Ikea, and Trader Joe’s. Go stock up for the year while you have parents with a car (theirs or rental, doesn’t matter as long as it has trunk space).

For visitors not from this area:Boston: always a nice get-away for some of that slightly bigger city atmosphere, great dining, extensive shopping, and colonial ambiance. Cheap and easy to get there and back.

Newport: Granted, it’ll be too chilly to go anywhere near the water, but it’s beautiful all the same. Check out some of the fancy houses, at least from the outside if you don’t want to pay the exorbitant fees to tour them. Look into quaint shops and have a lobster roll.

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